Venezuela, a leading global oil exporter on South America's northern coast, is turning from a democracy into a dictatorship this summer. The situation alarms many residents, as well as the United States and other governments. Recent power grabs by President Nicolás Maduro, elected in 2013, involve what The New York Times calls "a contentious power grab that has gutted Venezuela's democratic institutions and effectively eliminated any official political challenges." Police respond forcefully when students and others mount street protests, where more than 120 people have been killed this year. Opposition leaders are jailed after arrests last week following a so-called national election. "Maduro is not just a bad leader -- he is now a dictator," President Trump says.

The only ballot choices July 30 for a new assembly were allies of the president’s party — including his wife. Because many voters stayed home, the government exaggerated turnout numbers, independent observers say. Those seated will rewrite the constitution and rule the Spanish-speaking nation of more than 31 million people with virtually unlimited authority, including power to disband the elected legislature and dismiss any official deemed disloyal. Voters had no option to reject that set-up, similar to how Raul Castro controls Cuba, a Communist island.

When Maduro's attorney general said the vote just over a week ago was illegal, he threatened to put her in a mental hospital. The president also packed Venezuelan courts with loyalists, blocked opposition lawmakers from taking their seats, overturned laws he disliked and even tried to dissolve the legislature -- adding to the sense of a totalitarian takeover. More showdowns seem certain. "Now the opposition must ask: Do we go home, or do we go for a more radicalized approach? It could be a more violent response," says Shannon O'Neil, a Latin American affairs analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C.

The Trump administration calls Maduro "a dictator who disregards the will of the Venezuelan people." It froze his personal bank and investment accounts in this country and bars Americans from doing business with him. Maduro is one of only four heads of state to be sanctioned this way, along with Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Kim Jong-un of North Korea and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. For his part, the Venezuelan strongman dismisses American actions, saying: "Why are they sanctioning me? Because I don't comply with foreign governents? Because I don't wag my tail and am not a stray dog?"

U.S. Treasury secretary says: "The United States is broadening its effort to address the ongoing assault on Venezuela's democratic institutions by the Maduro regime." – Steve Mnuchin, member of President Trump’s Cabinet

Venezuelan attorney general says: "This is the end of freedom of expression, and this freedom has been battered for some time now. This is a smokescreen to hide the corruption and crisis that Venezuela faces. But they will have to climb over the institution that I represent, the people of Venezuela and our constitution." -- Luisa Ortega, a day after the sham election

Jailed dissident says: "They made a joke of the Parliament. And the people deserve answers." – Antonio Ledezma, former mayor arrested Aug. 1